Weekend Getaway

Brad has seemed a little burned-out lately, so I decided to whisk him away to Spokane for a weekend getaway. We left after his classes Friday afternoon and made the beautiful 1.5 hour drive in great time.

We stayed in the Doubletree Hotel after finding a crazy good deal on hotwire.com. (We only paid $50 for a four-star hotel.) The view from our room was gorgeous!

It was right on Riverfront Park. We saw Spokane falls and played on a big huge Radio Flyer slide as we leisurely made our way to Olive Garden for dinner.

Saturday morning we met our friends at the Spokane temple. We watched their little boy as they did a session, then traded and they watched Alaina while we did a session. It was so nice to be in the temple! We were so spoiled in Rexburg with the temple just up the hill and two willing grandparents to babysit. Brad and I have really missed just being able to run up to the temple whenever we had a chance.

The Spokane temple is one of the small temples. It's in a beautiful area! We were so thankful we made the time to go.

After attending the temple, we drove to a place called Green Bluff Farms where we went on a hay-ride, picked a pumpkin out of a huge pumpkin patch, looked around at craft booths, and listened to a band playing live music.

We ended our trip by going to REI where Brad browsed through climbing gear and various other outdoorsy things to his hearts content.

It was a fun weekend! We were able to relax, enjoy the beautiful fall weather, and gear up for the next few weeks of school.

A Wonderful Weekend

Last Wednesday, October 15th, was the last tax deadline of this year for my Dad's office. My hardworking parents needed a break after their busy week, so they came up to see us! Hooray! They made the long drive up and arrived late Thursday night.

While they were here they spoiled me rotten with early birthday gifts, treated us to dinner, relaxed with us, watched Lainy while Brad and I went on a date, and lifted our spirits! It was so fun to have them.

Our big activity on Saturday was the football game between Washington State and USC. I was so excited for the game because I've never been to a big college game before. Our seats were right behind the east enzone. It was fun to watch the game from that vantage point because we could really see the openings on the field. I felt like a was getting the same view as the quarterback. It was great! It was also fun to be close to the band. Well, it was fun because of their enthusiasm. It wasn't fun to hear the Trojan victory song played every first down, which meant they pretty much never stopped playing the same song. I can still hear it in my head. . . ha ha. You gotta love marching bands!

We had a pretty good idea that Washington State would lose (they've had a hard year with quarterback injuries, etc.), but it was okay because we were excited to see the #4 ranked USC Trojans play. So you get a clear picture of what happened, let me give you a few statistics from the game:

First Downs USC: 28 WSU: 4
Rushing Yards USC: 362 WSU:88
Passing Yards USC:263 WSU:28
Final Score USC:69 WSU:0

They got killed! Slaughtered! Creamed! We figured USC scored about every 6 minutes. Isn't that crazy?! Poor WSU. They looked like little kids holding onto the legs of their dad as they tried to tackle the big USC receivers and running backs. It was pretty amazing. We had a great time. Who knows, maybe we were watching the championship team play?

Mom and Dad left Sunday after our meetings.

Here are some pictures:

USC marching band as the Trojans take the field

Mom, Lainy, Me, and Brad sitting in the stands

View from the stands

Lainy watching Elmo with Grandpa

Lainy playing outside with Grandma and Grandpa

Dad, Lainy, and Mom before they headed home

Thanks so much for coming to see us Mom and Dad! We absolutely loved having you!

Playing Tag

I was recently tagged by my wonderful sister-in-law Leslie. Hope you enjoy these random facts about me!
How To Play This Game of Tag:
1. Post these rules on your blog.
2. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys
1. Hugs, kisses, and bedtime snuggles from my husband
2. Making Lainy laugh
3. Waking up before Alaina feeling fully rested. Oh it's wonderful, though it doesn't happen often.

3 Fears
1. Going to bed without locking the doors
2. Scary books/writing. I don't know why, but books get to me worse than movies do. If I read something disturbing, for some reason those words stick in my mind and I inevitably dream about it all night.
3. Looking like an idiot in public. For example: the other day Alaina had a doctor's appointment. I dressed her all cute, left in plenty of time to be to the office early, and made sure I had all the appropriate documentation for the secretary. I walked boldly up to the secretary and told her we had an appointment at 10 o'clock. "Who is it for?" She asked. I told her. "And what doctor is she seeing?" I told her. She looked confused and clicked around on her computer for a minute before she informed me that Alaina's appointment was tomorrow. Woops! I felt dumb and hurriedly excused myself. When we got home I checked my calender to see if I'd written it down on the wrong day. Nope. I was just completely spacey that day I guess. How embarrassing!

3 Goals
1. Keep my grocery bill down. I never knew how much our parents fed us until we moved away from them. Our grocery bill has doubled!
2. Read the Relief Society lesson before it is given
3. Have a clean home when Brad comes home from school

3 Current Obsessions/Collections
1. I admit I like watching Dancing with the Stars. Warren Sapp, the "quarterback killer", has got some moves!
2. Checking my email/blog for updates from family members
3. Keeping Lainy's face and hands clean so I don't find something wet and sticky on my clothes/furniture/carpet/hair.

3 Random Surprising facts
1. I used to get really scared at night so I'd put all my stuffed animals around me in bed so if the bad guy came to get me while I was sleeping, he might mistake one of my teddy bears for me! The teddy bears were only very recently replaced by a husband on one side and a big pillow on the other.
2. I hate cleaning bathtubs
3. There was a time in my life when I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy every summer. I loved them, and still love them, but can you say "nerd"!

5 People who are luck enough to get tagged by me!
Whoever wants to do it that hasn't already!

It's Time for Some Campaignin'!

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Apple Cider

We had such a fun day yesterday. One of the secretaries at the WWAMI office lives on a farm with an apple orchard. Yesterday she invited all of the WWAMI students and their families out to her orchard to make apple cider.

It was the perfect day to be out in an apple orchard with the crisp air and sunshine. We couldn't think of anywhere we'd rather be.

Making the cider turned out to be a lot of work! I'll tell you the process: First we picked all the apples off the trees. Here is Brad shaking branches to get the apples to fall.

Lainy enjoyed the fresh air and helping pick apples. She was good about putting the apples in the wheelbarrow until she found this one. I guess she was hungry because once she had this one she wouldn't let it go.
After picking the apples, we cut out the bad parts and washed them in bleach. Then we rinsed them off, and they were ready for the mill.
Here is the cider mill. It was really cool because it wasn't electrical. We had to operate it by hand. This is a picture of the grinder.
Here is the apple cider press and the cider dripping into the bucket.

This is me operating the grinder.

We also had fun on the farm driving the tractor. . .

. . . and chasing chickens. It took Brad fifteen minutes to catch this particular chicken.

What a fun day! We made the most delicious apple cider I've ever tasted. We left with three gallons of it. I wish I could bottle up a cup for you all! Maybe we'll bring some home at Thanksgiving. . . if there's any left by then!

A Visit with Family

Last Thursday Brad's Mom and Becca were able to come and visit us! One of Brad's Mom's piano students was in in the State Jr. Miss program in Coeur d'Alene, so the family offered Mom and Becca a ride up. They were able to watch her perform her talent and she went on to win 2nd runner up in the competition. We were excited for her.

So Thursday night I drove up to Coeur d'Alene to pick them up and they stayed with us until Sunday morning.

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. Brad finished his midterms on Friday after an exhausting week for both of us. The weather was chilly and rainy so we were content to be at home relaxing. We watched General Conference over the internet for the first time. (Can you believe they don't broadcast it on three TV channels and on the radio like back home?! :) ) In between sessions we went to the Farmers Market, a fun toy store, and the U of I and Washington State campuses to show Mom and Becca where Brad goes to school.

Becca, Mom, Brad, and Alaina at Washington State University

Practically all our other time was spent watching Alaina grow up before our eyes. She started really walking. She's so steady she doesn't have to hold onto anything and she hardly ever falls. Grandma Hansen sent a little lamb with a blanekt and Alaina fell in love with it. She'd hug and kiss it and say "baby". It was the cutest thing! She also learned to do peek-a-boo, and we swear she said "Grandma" and "Becca" a few times. It was so fun to watch her.

Alaina kissing her "baby"

Thanks so much for coming to see us Mom and Becca! We absolutely loved having you here!